State of Madison County address details gains, troubles for 2013

WAMSPVILLE -- In his fifth State of the County address, Madison County Chairman John Becker reflected on the county's activity in 2012 while looking forward to 2013.

On Tuesday, Becker recapped what he sees as the the county's successes in a difficult economic climate and predicted more hardships for 2013. With the consolidation of many departments, Becker said "the private sector has gone through this very painful process and government should not be immune to these trends either."

"My hat is off to all of our employees for doing the job that needs to be done to make us a more efficient, stable work environment as well as a leaner government," he said.

Hoping to see a "calmer, more balanced approach to problems whose solutions seem to have eluded many," Becker anticipated the county will continue to struggle to support Medicaid and pension costs.

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"The continuation of the New York Legislature to be lethargic at best, to do what is right by its taxpayers and not its tax consumers, will be a huge problem in 2013," he said, predicting unsustainable state mandates will cause New Yorkers to move out in search of cheaper places to live.

The county will continue to make economic development a priority, investing in its agricultural heritage, he said. Part of that will include the new county-wide economic development plan, a project former Cazenovia Supervisor Liz Moran and others have been working on for several years. The plan will be available on the county's website soon.

Becker also highlighted the success of county departments. The installation of a new public safety radio system was completed and connected to surrounding counties last year, a project partially supported by grants. The Health Department collaborated to battle synthetic drugs, the IT Department launched a new county website and the Highway Department devised innovative ways to maintain county roads while saving money. The Personnel Department finalized collective bargaining contracts with both CSEA units, the Planning Department redesigned the soon-to-be defunct Madison Transit System and initiated the installation of residential solar panels through the Solarize Madison program. The Solid Waste and Sanitation Department opened a reuse store and is moving forward with the development of the Agricultural Renewable Energy Park. The Mental Health Department's ADAPT program was privatized; the county will continue to look for ways to privatize other programs.

"Have a prosperous and healthy New Year," Becker said. "Remember that the glass is half full and not half empty."

In other action on Tuesday, supervisors hosted a public hearing to gather comments on its revised weighted voting calculations. The change will adjust the number of votes each supervisor casts based on the 2010 Census data. Sullivan, Oneida, Lenox and Hamilton will stand as the top four voting strengths on the board, although Oneida's votes are split among four supervisors.

Oneida resident Rob Kinsella spoke during the public hearing, suggesting that supervisors take the recalculation of votes as an opportunity to examine consolidation. Pointing to the 19 supervisors on the board, Kinsella said "that's more government than we need with 70,000 people."

The board ultimately tabled the resolution to, according to Administrative Assistant Mark Scimone, "gather more information."

A second public hearing was held to establish the salaries of 10 county officials. The positions are elected or appointed, so their salaries are required to be set by local law. The list includes the sheriff, commissioner of social services, highway superintendent, treasurer, public health director, personnel officer, county clerk, election commissioners and the real property tax services director. Their salaries will increase 3 percent this year, in line with the raises management and confidential employees will receive.

Supervisors also agreed to a contract with Family Counseling Services of Cortland County for the administration of the ADAPT program. The county currently has an agreement in place for the agency to manage the program. The new contract will allow the agency to completely take over the program once it receives approval from the state.

Along with the $88,006 the county receives from the state for the program, Family Counseling Services will be paid $70,663 a year directly from the county. Scimone said the county intends to provide that money for no more than two years; this agreement lasts one year. When it expires, county officials will review the contract and the quality of service the agency has provided. In the past, the ADAPT program has cost the county as much as $110,000 to as little as $10,000 a year.